Southern Africa: Food Aid

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance was given to Southern Africa in 2003 from the international community to tackle food shortages across the region.

Baroness Amos: During the course of the first UN regional appeal for Southern Africa—from July 2002 until June 2003—the international community provided a total of 470 million US dollars of humanitarian assistance; 428 million US dollars of this amount was for food aid programmes. DfID is the second biggest bilateral donor for humanitarian programmes in Southern Africa.

Southern Africa: Food Aid

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance they plan to give in 2004 to tackle forthcoming food shortages across Southern Africa; and what total assistance they estimate will be required from the international community; and
	What assistance was given to Southern Africa in 2003 from the United Kingdom to tackle food shortages across the region.

Baroness Amos: DfID has provided over £30 million to meet humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho covering the period of the United Nations current regional appeal for Southern Africa, which runs from July 2003 until June 2004. £20 million of this has supported food aid programming in the region, with the majority funding needs in Zimbabwe. In addition, substantial agricultural recovery programmes are being supported in Zambia and Malawi. We are also continuing to support vulnerability monitoring work in the region to improve the targeting of emergency and recovery interventions.
	Latest figures from the UN indicate that more than half of the regional humanitarian appeal has been resourced, with 325 million US dollars contributed so far. Food aid needs are almost 70 per cent. funded. Crop forecasts indicate that normal or good harvests are expected this year in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
	DfID is the second biggest humanitarian donor in Southern Africa.

Afghanistan: DfID Assistance

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In which Afghan ministries they have provided training and capacity building; for how long, and with what results.

Baroness Amos: By providing training and capacity building to Afghan ministries DfID is helping to build an effective state, which can promote development and begin to reduce poverty. This year DfID will provide £45 million through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which pays for civil service salaries, amongst other things. DfID also works directly with key Afghan ministries, delivering the technical assistance they need to help them to manage resources effectively.
	DfID has helped build the policy capability and systems of the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance (£3.3 million from June 2002 to June 2005). DfID is supporting the Ministry of Finance to improve the national budget formulation process (£2.5 million over three years from November 2003). DfID is also providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance on customs reform to enhance domestic revenues (£3 million over three years).
	DfID has supported the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) (£700,000 from February to December 2002), focusing on the development of women's leadership and support to the Ministry for Women's Affairs. DfID has provided consultants to give technical assistance in the areas of policy/institutional development in the Ministry of Public Health (£180,000 January to March 2003). From September to December 2003 DfID provided technical assistance to help the Afghanistan Central Statistical Office (£80,000) in preparing a strategic plan for the statistical system of Afghanistan.
	In September 2003 DfID began a three-year project (£2.1 million) to strengthen the capacity of the Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation, Development, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry to formulate agriculture and rural development policies and operational programmes.
	DfID is providing £1.67 million worth of technical assistance to the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC). This contribution is part of a package to be delivered together with the World Bank for a period of three years from May 2004. This technical assistance will improve the capacity of the IARCSC to develop and manage a professional and accountable civil service across all government ministries.
	DfID is also contributing £1 million-worth of technical assistance to the Cabinet Secretariat and the Office of the President. This technical assistance will help to rationalise decision-making at the centre of government, and is due to be provided over a period of 18 months from May 2004.
	Through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, DfID has helped to establish the office of the National Security Adviser and the Counter Narcotics Directorate within the National Security Council. The Ministry of Defence is helping to build the government's capacity to manage Afghanistan's own security by providing training to the Afghan National Army.
	The increased capacity of Afghan ministries enables the Afghan Government to take the lead in the development process in their country. With the continuing support of the international community, government capacity to administer funds effectively is continuing to grow. simone

Southern Health and Social Services Board Pharmacy Practices Committee

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Who are the members of the Pharmacy Practices Committee of the Southern Health and Social Services Board; who appoints these members; and in what way the committee is answerable to the public.

Baroness Amos: The Pharmacy Practice Committee of the Southern Health and Social Services Board is a statutory committee established by the board under Schedule 4 to the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (SR 381).
	It has a maximum of seven members selected from the current panel—chair, Mrs Roberta Brownlee and vice-chair, Mr P McCreesh; Mrs H Dougan and Mr J McClean; one from Mr S Stewart, Ms A B M Friel and Mr J J Speers; and two from Mr S McKeagney, Mr R Anderson, Mr G Greene.
	The Pharmacy Practice Committee's minutes are considered by the Southern Health and Social Services Board at open public meetings.

Irish Language Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What consultations took place between the appropriate departments and the Irish Language Agency on the issue of the agency's budget for 2004.

Baroness Amos: The business plan and budget for the Irish Language Agency was discussed at meetings on 18 September 2003 and 2 October 2003 between sponsor departments and agency officials. There were also numerous telephone conversations and email exchanges between sponsor departments, finance departments and the agency.

Cross-Border Implementation Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the implications for the cross-border implementation bodies of the Republic of Ireland's Official Languages Act 2003.

Baroness Amos: The Government understand that the implementation bodies are included in the list of bodies to which the Official Languages Act applies. The implementation bodies are bound by the domestic law of the jurisdiction in which their operations take place.

Cross-Border Implementation Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a cross-border implementation body may relocate its headquarters without approval from a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council.

Baroness Amos: Approval from the North/South Ministerial Council would be required to relocate the headquarters of a North/South implementation body. Rebo

Cross-Border Implementation Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How and when the locations of the headquarters of the cross-border implementation bodies were decided; and whether the North/South Ministerial Council was consulted.

Baroness Amos: The decision on the location of headquarters of the North/South bodies was agreed at the inaugural Plenary meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council held on 13 December 1999.

Northern Ireland Civil Service: Remuneration

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 11 March (WA 184), what is the salary scale for the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in monetary amounts.

Baroness Amos: The salary scale from 1 April 2004 is £135,584 to £229,449.

Northern Ireland: Targeting Social Need

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps Waterways Ireland and the Food Safety Implementation Board have taken to support the policy in Northern Ireland of targeting social need.

Baroness Amos: To support the policy in Northern Ireland of targeting social need, Waterways Ireland (WI) and the Food Safety Promotion Board (FSPB) each developed a new targeting social need (NTSN) action plan. These plans were approved by the North/South Ministerial Council in 2002 and they are being implemented by the bodies.
	A copy of both action plans are available in the Library.

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 31 March (WA 163), whether there is any justification in international law for interpreting the scope of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as confined to the protection of "racial groups" as defined in the Race Relations Act 1976 rather than applying to "national minorities" generally, including British Muslims.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: As I explained in my Written Answer on 31 March (WA 163), the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities does not define the term "national minority" nor is "national minority" a legally defined term in the United Kingdom.
	In choosing to apply the framework convention with reference to the definition of racial groups in the Race Relations Act (which is "a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins"), the Government have interpreted the framework convention relatively widely. For example, I understand that some parties to the framework convention apply it only to members of certain longstanding minority groups with a domestic legal status as "national minorities."
	The Government believe that this threshold ensures that the United Kingdom complies with statement of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention that "implementation of the framework convention should not be a source of arbitrary or unjustified distinctions", in that it is based on criteria set out in an Act of Parliament that are a matter for interpretation by the courts.

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 31 March (WA 163), whether they consider British Jews to be a national minority within the scope of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government do not recognise any national minority as such. The term "national minority" is not a legally defined term in the United Kingdom, nor does the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities define the term.
	As I stated in my Written Answer on 31 March (WA 163), the Government therefore ratified the framework convention on the understanding that its principles should apply to members of "racial groups" as set out in the Race Relations Act 1976. This defines a racial group as "a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins".
	Case law has established that Jews constitute a racial group within the meaning of the Race Relations Act. They are therefore covered by the framework convention. Rebo

Defence Information Systems

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will give a breakdown by salary band of the number of employees in the defence information systems integrated project team.

Lord Bach: The defence information infrastructure integrated project team is headed by a senior civil servant at 1-star level supported by 10 assistant directors, at civilian B1-level and military OF5 rank. As at 1 April 2004, the IPT employs some 470 full-time equivalent staff. The overall breakdown of staff numbers by civilian grade and military rank is as follows:
	
		
			 Civilian (Band) Salary Band (p.a.) Number 
			 E2 £10,700–£18,420 5 
			 E1 £12,719–£22,444 38 
			 D £16,281–£25,393 72 
			 C2 £20,333–£30,184 128 
			 C1 £25,393–£36,776 116 
			 B2 £35,004–£49,460 31 
			 B1 £41,609–£61,769 7 
			 SCS £53,541–£112,258 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Military (Rank) Salary Band (p.a.) Number 
			 OR4 £22,184–£27,878 1 
			 OR6 £25,217–£31,025 21 
			 OR7 £27,915–£35,324 8 
			 OR8 £30,287–£36,335 4 
			 OR9 £32,426–£39,277 1 
			 OF2 £31,853–£37,883 4 
			 OF3 £40,124–£48,055 21 
			 OF4 £56,315–£62,254 7 
			 OF5 £65,218–£72,083 3

War Widows

Baroness Strange: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pre-1973 war widows relinquished their war widow's pension by virtue of remarriage or cohabitation for (a) 1999; (b) 2000; (c) 2001; (d) 2002; and (e) 2003.

Lord Bach: Reliable data on pre-1973 war widows' pensions relinquished due to remarriage or cohabitation are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

War Widows

Baroness Strange: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pre-1973 war widows are in receipt of a war widow's pension for (a) 1999; (b) 2000; (c) 2001; (d) 2002; and (e) 2003.

Lord Bach: Data on pre-1973 war widows are not recorded directly.
	However, all pre-1973 war widows should be in receipt of a "War widow's special allowance" (SPAL). This is a supplementary pension which is payable only to pre-1973 war widows.
	The table below shows the number of war widows in receipt of SPAL according to the Veterans Agency computer system, as at 31 December for each year from 2000.
	No data on SPAL in payment are available prior to March 2000.
	
		
			 Data as at: War Widows in receipt of SPAL 
			 31 December 2000 49,345 
			 31 December 2001 47,180 
			 31 December 2002 44,695 
			 31 December 2003 42,165 
		
	
	All figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	Please note that these figures are published in table 1.2 of the War Pensions quarterly statistics, available in the House of Commons Library.

Disabled Children: Truancy

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ensure that local education authorities make all the family circumstances of disabled children with unemployed parents available to magistrates before fines or imprisonment for truancy are imposed.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: In deciding upon a sentence in these cases, magistrates must take into account a variety of factors including the physical and mental health of the child and the parent's financial circumstances.
	The Department for Education and Skills has published guidance setting out that the local education authority representative in these cases should present a witness statement to the court which should include details of the family and home visits. Documentary evidence relating to mitigating factors (such as those set out above) may also be presented where available.
	If the court is not satisfied that it has sufficient information about the family, it may adjourn pending a full pre-sentence report.

Pensions Bill

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have received from trade unions about their concerns with regard to the Pensions Bill; what replies they have sent; and whether there is any action they are considering in response to those concerns.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: This Government are committed to increasing consensus on pension issues by maintaining frequent contact with all key partners in both the trade unions and the employer community. This contact is important as it is for all of us to help to increase confidence and security in pension provision.
	We have received representations from various trade unions on the content of the Pensions Bill and continue to welcome their input to this important debate. We have taken on board the views of stakeholders during consultation and continue to involve them in discussions regarding their concerns. Indeed many of the measures in the Pensions Bill, such as the Pension Protection Fund, and the extension of TUPE-style protection for the occupational pensions of workers who are transferred to a new employer, reflect long-standing trade union concerns.
	Over the past few months, my DWP colleagues and I have variously met representatives from the TUC and from many individual trade union organisations where we have discussed a range of topics including the Pensions Bill. In addition, government officials discuss aspects of the Pensions Bill through regular contacts and meetings with both TUC and CBI representatives.
	My right honourable friend Secretary of State for Work and Pensions met Brendan Barber on 20 April and had a constructive discussion on aspects of the Pensions Bill.

Azinphos-methyl: Inveresk Study

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 29 January (WA 57) on the Inveresk study, whether a report was submitted to any department or agency on the outcome of the experiment; and, if so, what were their conclusions on the findings of that report.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not received a post-trial report from this study. It is not aware that a report has been sent to any other department or agency.

Azinphos-methyl: Inveresk Study

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 29 January (WA 57) on the Inveresk study, whether it is their policy to approve the use of pesticides only after experiments have been conducted on humans.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: No. Approval for the supply and use of pesticides is in fact based mainly on animal studies and on exposure data acquired from normal work activity.

Azinphos-methyl: Inveresk Study

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 29 January (WA 57) on the Inveresk study, whether the experiment with the pesticide Azinphos-methyl was sanctioned directly or indirectly by a government department or agency.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: No. There was no requirement for a government department or agency to sanction it either directly or indirectly.

DrugScope

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the nature and extent of any relationship between government departments and DrugScope; and what influence, if any, DrugScope has on policy formation.

Lord Warner: DrugScope was established in 2000 as a voluntary sector organisation working in the drugs field. As a stakeholder in the drugs strategy, DrugScope helps to set performance measures by which the success of the strategy is assessed.
	Central government departments have committed a total of £988,000 to DrugScope in 2003–04. DrugScope has been funded for a range of work by the Department of Health, the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes a grant for the Information and Library Service, organisation of the National Conference on Young People and Substance Misuse and a grant to support drug education for drug-using parents.

Orchards

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many orchards and how many hectares given over to orchards have been lost in the past 50 years in Great Britain; and how many of those are traditionally managed and grazed by animals for six months of the year.

Lord Whitty: Census data show that the total area of orchards in England declined from 110,590 hectares in 1950 to 25,998 hectares in 2000. Figures for Scotland and Wales fall under the jurisdiction of the devolved authorities. The census data do not record the number of orchards, nor which orchards were traditionally managed or grazed.

Orchards

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will seek changes from the European Commission before 1 January 2005 to ensure that Britain's remaining orchards will not be grubbed up as a result of the change in European Commission farm payments rules to promote care for the environment above continuing production support.

Lord Whitty: We are still considering the implications of detailed rules which were agreed in Brussels on 14 April, especially in respect of the treatment of grazed orchards. However, traditional English orchards already enjoy considerable protection under countryside stewardship agreements. Decisions on the future of commercial orchards are for the grower to make taking account of the market prospects for the product concerned, in keeping with the general principles of the recent CAP reform agreement.

Orchards

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they alone among European Union member states have excluded orchards from being regarded as an environmental benefit as well as having cultural benefit and landscape value, thus excluding access to subsidy available to other European Union commercial orchards.

Lord Whitty: Orchards throughout the European Union are generally ineligible for the single payment, which cannot be paid on land under permanent crops. In England, the environmental benefits provided by traditional orchards are recognised in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which now provides funding of £600,000 a year for agreements covering two-thirds of the area of traditional orchards.